Praise Is What I Do!

                          

                                                THE PRAYER CONNECTION BY MICHELE AVERY

“YOU CAN’T STEAL MY PRAISE….BECAUSE!! …PRAISE IS WHAT I DO!!!” ©

Have you ever woke up, feeling on top of the world? Ready to give God thanks for all that he has done for you? So you say a little prayer that goes something like this?

7:00AM: “Lord, I thank you, for waking me up this morning; thank you for keeping us safe through the night; thank you for your mercy and your grace! You didn’t have to do it, but you did! And for that I say thank you!!!! For this is a day that YOU have made Lord, and I WILL rejoice and be glad in it!!!!” …..THEN!

9:00AM: “I’m sick of my life going like this! I ain’t got no decent clothes, I’m tired of being broke, gotta go to this tired job! And deal with these tired folks! They better not mess with me today, honey because my day is already a hot mess!!!!”…..What happened? An hour ago your hot mess of a day, was a day that the Lord had made and you were rejoicing and glad about it!  I’ll tell you what happened! The enemy smelled your praise and decided to invite himself to the party! I know all so well, how the enemy can take your praise and turn it into a “pout”…..Just the other day, he came to me wanting to steal my praise and asked these questions: “Aren’t you tired of the same old things, day after day? How’s that knee of yours? God still hasn’t healed you? Your kids are working your nerves; you’re broke, and you’re still without a job!! Why are you praising God, the way that you do? He created you to fail! I thought for a moment about what he had said to me and I felt my joy sort of slipping away…..looking down, I saw a ray of sunshine coming through the blinds and it was on my arm! Something happened to me in that instance! The Holy Spirit told me to go ahead and answer his questions, since he wanted to know! Here’s what I told Satan: “Yes, I get tired on many days, but My God always gives me strength to make it through! And my knee, yes it still hurts, but when I think about the goodness of Jesus and the fact that I have both of my legs and I can walk, the pain gets replaced with praise! And did you mention my children? Each one of them are saved, baptized, and on their way to Heaven, so you will never get your hands on them!! And I’m broke, you say? Well, I can’t tell! I still have my home, I still have my car, and my family eats every day! And my job situation? I temporarily have a new employer and he’s putting me to work just fine and because of my praise! He gives me benefits in FULL!! So, you see; I was born to praise! Just look around! Everything that God made gives him praise, except YOU! The sun showed up just in time this morning, the trees were swaying in honor of my God, the oceans still stop at the seashore in humble obedience, the flowers rise up in order to brighten someone’s day, and the birds? They sing of God’s new mercies EVERY morning! And you want to know why I still praise him? It’s simply because…Praise Is What I Do!!.